High Temperature System Design for Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles

The automotive semiconductor market is currently valued at around $10 billion worldwide, and is expected to rise to more than $14 billion by 2014. The steep rise of power modules for hybrid and electric vehicles is not yet included in this prognosis. Electronic systems have been the most rapidly growing element of vehicles in recent years, and this trend rise sharply with the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). The key parameters that determine the suitability of a power device for high temperature environment are the devices maximum allowable junction temperature and its conduction loss. The power devices are cooled to an extent that their junction temperatures do not exceed the maximum allowable value. Increasing the maximum junction temperature allows a higher base plate or heat sink temperature. A higher heat sink temperature, allows a higher ambient air temperature or coolant temperature. The semiconductor devices with low conduction loss will generate less heat, and allows a higher heat sink temperature. The paper presents the developments of a novel 400V IGBT based power module well suitable for electric vehicle applications.